FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 26, 2006
FBI AND ATF ANNOUNCE ARREST OF TWO COLORADO BANK ROBBERS FOLLOWING YEAR LONG CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
DENVER - Bill Leone, United States Attorney for the District of Colorado, Richard C. Powers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Denver Office, and Lester D. Martz, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, announced that PATRICK SALVADOR, age 24, and ZACHARY SMALLCANYON, age 37, have been arrested based on a Criminal Complaint filed in U.S. District Court late yesterday on one count of armed bank robbery, one count of using a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and aiding and abetting. Both defendants surrendered to the FBI in Overland Park, Kansas late last night. They were scheduled to make their initial appearance in Kansas today.
According to the affidavit in support of the Criminal Complaint, the two defendants are charged with the January 23, 2006 armed robbery of a US Bank located in Littleton. The two robbers, according to the Complaint, dressed in black clothing with black ski masks, with camouflage vests and black military style boots. Both robbers carried assault rifles. The robbers ordered people to the ground, with one pointing his assault rifle at a bank teller. The robbers took a total of $15,052.34 from the bank.
The FBI’s affidavit further states that the method of theft in the US Bank robbery was consistent with a series of bank robberies committed by two males over the past eighteen months. The pair “have been dubbed the ‘Military-Style Bandits’ or the ‘Hollywood Bandits’ because they rob banks using assault rifles,” according to the affidavit. The FBI and ATF continue to investigate whether the defendants are responsible for other Colorado bank robberies.
“Thanks to the hard investigative work of the FBI and ATF, two people believed to be responsible for an aggressive take-over style bank robbery are now in custody,” said United States Attorney Bill Leone. “It is important to recognize the tenacious work of the FBI and ATF agents in Colorado Springs and the Denver area on this case.”
FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard C. Powers said, “The arrest of the bank robbers is a result of the extraordinary efforts and cooperation between the Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force and the Colorado Springs Police Department, El Paso County Sheriff's Office, and all of the other law enforcement agencies who worked hard on this year long investigation. As a result of these arrests, two potentially violent individuals will no longer be on the streets in Colorado.”
“This is an excellent example of cooperation between all of the law enforcement agencies involved in this investigation,” said Lester D. Martz, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
If convicted the defendants each face up to 25 years in federal prison, and/or a $250,000 fine, plus restitution for armed bank robbery. They also both face a mandatory 7 year sentence consecutive to any other sentence for using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Colorado Springs Police Department, the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, the Littleton Police Department and the Colorado State Patrol. Agents and officers from the Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force also provided substantial contributions towards this investigation. The Rocky Mountain Safe Streets Task Force includes representatives from the Aurora Police Department, Denver Police Department, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Protective Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Dave Conner and Greg Holloway.
Because this matter is still under investigation, no additional information is available and no interviews will be conducted.
A Criminal Complaint is a probable cause charging document. Anyone accused of committing a federal crime has a Constitutional right to be indicted by a grand jury.
The charges are only allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty.
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